Device for anatomically positioning the human body against a seat back

ABSTRACT

A roller located within a hollow seat back and adjacent the portion thereof normally engaged by the back of the person using the seat is pivotally mounted for swinging movement to press against and move outwardly a portion of the seat back. The roller assembly is vertically adjustable to select the position at which the back will be engaged and means are provided for clamping the device in adjusted positions.

I United States Patent [151 3,642,319

Berchicci Feb. 15, 1972 [54] DEVICE FOR ANATOMICALLY 3,463,544 8/1969 Froelich ..297/284 POSITIONING TIIE HUMAN BODY 3,464,754 9/1969 Gottfried ..297/284 AGAINST A SEAT BACK FOREIGN PATENTS 0R APPLICATIONS [721 lnvemo" mi Berchicci! Via ROma lsemia, 809,734 3/1959 Great Britain ..297/284 [22] Filed: Feb. 6, 1969 Primary Examiner-James T. McCall App! 797046 Attorney-Newton, Hopkins & Ormsby [30] Foreign Application Priority Data I Feb. 23, l968 Italy ..3303A/68 I 1 ABSTRACT A roller located within a hollow seat back and adjacent the s using the seat is pivotally mounted for swinging movement to of press against and move outwardly a p i f the seat back- The roller assembly is vertically adjustable to select the posi- [5 6] References Cned tion at which the back will be engaged and means are provided UNITED STATES ATENTS for clamping the device in adjusted positions.

McNamara et al. .,.297/284 1 Claim, 6 Drawing Figures PATFENTEDFEB 1 5 1972 3542319 SHEET 2 0F 2 m F/G. 5.

A /uh, W W {6 ATTORNEYS DEVICE FOR ANATOMICALLY POSITIONING THE HUMAN BODY AGAINST A SEAT BACK The present invention relates to a device which is intended primarily to be used in the motor vehicle field, but that could be also of practical and useful application in other different fields.

The invention aims to eliminate the considerable anatomic and physiologic troubles due to a uncorrect driving position of the driver or user.

In fact, as conventional seatbacks are used, the weight of the human body entirely acts on the loin-sacral zone as well as on the ischiatic tuberosities of said body. While at the zone of the ischiatic tuberosities the driver feels only very slight, temporary and reversible troubles, as, for instance, a tingling in the legs and a torpor, on the loin-sacral part of the body serious and irreversible anatomic and pathologic effects are caused, due to the nonhygienic position that the spinal column is forced to take, as a consequence of the overload ofthe chest as well as of the swinging movements of the vehicle transmitted thereon.

If the natural curve of the spinal column is considered, as viewed from a side, it is evident, that the driver, who rests his back against a conventional seat back, is compelled to modify the curvature of'his spine which is therefore obliged not'only to take a nonphysiologic position, but also a really detrimental position, since, as the driver presses his back against a conventional seat back, the curvature of the loin-sacral section of his spine is eliminated and, as a result, the cartilaginous intervertebral disks are compressed and the interarticular hind ligaments are stretched. These troubles which in their initial stage can be reversible, with the passing of time produce such anatomic and physiologic modifications of the human organism (as, for instance, arthrosis, disk hernia, etc.) so as to cause definitive damages.

To support this assertion, reference may be made to the everyday scenes of drivers who are obliged to get out of their cars for trying to eliminate the troublesome ache on their backs by means of local massages or by accomplishing flexions. Other drivers try empirically to overcome the aforesaid inconvience by the interposition of the most different objects between their back and the seat back, the results of said expendients being almost of no value.

Up till now the problem, which is concerned with a rational seat back, has been tackled with some seriousness and competence, but it has not given the expected results.

In fact also when seat backs are used of a back-matching type or of an anatomic type, the centrifugal stresses generated during a nonrectilinear running of the vehicle cannot be avoided.

According to the present invention the problem of finding radical remedies, which are based upon a faultless utmost scientific exactitude, has been solved by means of the principle, that the damages, as hereinabove indicated, can be avoided by a correct anatomic conditioning of the system human back-seat back.

In fact the length of the spine which can be better sensitive to such benefits, is, as a rule, comprised between the first sacral vertebra and the fifth lumbar one.

If a supporting strength is applied to said articulation zone, which is independent from the energetic system of the drivers body. The aforesaid negative effects as well as those which are concerned with the incidence of the strength-weight of the spinal column are compensated. Further the anatomic conditioning device of the invention is also intended to obtain a perfect locking for the drivers back when irregular stresses act on the vehicle during particularly critical running conditions; furthermore it causes a rubbing on the parts concerned of the driver's body, thus producing a better capillar blood distribution. In support of this thesis may be pointed out, that even an arthrosic subject may experience the considerable relief and comfort, as he drives a vehicle provided with the device of the invention.

The anatomically conditioning device to be applied to a seat back according to the present invention is constituted by a roller of a suitable resilient material, said roller being mounted on a supporting shaft by means of supporting ball bearings, said shaft being provided with crank end parts, which are made integral with handgrips or handles so that the said shaft is eccentric to the rotary axis of said handgrips or handles, one of which is designed to permit an eccentric adjustment of the roller and the other is screwed on the end of the other crank part so as to enable to lock the anatomically conditioning device at the desired height.

For accomplishing said longitudinal displacements, provision is made to slidably mount the device between two guides arranged on the sides of the seat back. It must be pointed out that according to well tried, considerations the device is not only effective when it is mounted in the inside of the seat back, but also when it is applied accordingto. other duly adapted solutions. 7 i I The invention is described in more detail with reference to an embodiment, shown in the accompanying drawings and given merely by way of an indicative example and not as limiting the invention.

FIG. 1 shows a front view of the device.

FIG. 2 shows a cross-sectional view of the vertical locking means.

FIG. 3 shows a side view of the adjustment means of the ec centric roller.

FIG. 4 shows the front view of the means enabling a vertical displacement of the roller.

FIGS. 5 and 6 show diagrammatically the front view and a side view respectively of the anatomically conditioning device, applied to a seat back as well as of a length of the loin-sacral zone of the drivers spine in FIG. 6.

As may be seen from FIG. 1, the device according to the invention is constituted by a roller made of any suitable resilient material and mounted on the shaft 2 with the interposition of bearings 8 provided to make easier its sliding so as to reduce the friction ,due to swinging movements of the vehicle during its running. Said bearings 8 are secured to the shaft 2 (FIGS. 2 and 3), which is eccentric to the shaft 6 supporting the handgrip 5 which is screwed on said shaft 6 so as to permit to lock the anatomically conditioning deviceto the sliding guide 3 (FIG. 4) at the desired position. v u

The other end of the shaft 6 is made integral with the handle 10 (FIG. 3) designed for the adjustment of the roller eccentricity, so as to obtain such a convexity on the bearing surface of the seat back 4. (FIG. 6) which correctly matches the concavity of the loin-sacral portion of the spine.

It will be apparent that while it has been shown and described the invention in a preferred embodiment, in the practice changes may be made without departing from the scope of the invention, as sought to be defined in the following claims.

What I claim is:

1. An adjustable device for anatomically positioning the human body comprising a seat having a hollow back structure, a shaft, a roller made of resilient material and rotatably mounted on bearings at opposite ends of said shaft, crank arms at opposite ends of the shaft, projections on said crank arms axially aligned with each other and extending outwardly of said roller, a vertically slotted guide member at each end of the seat back, the crank arm projections being slidably mounted in said slots respectively, and extending beyond the guide members, the portion of one of the projecting members extending beyond the guide member being threaded, a locknut mounted on said threaded portion and adapted to en gage the guide member for clamping the shaft in adjusted vertical position, a handle secured to the outwardly extending portion of the other crank arm projection said handle having a portion in engagement with the adjacent guide member and serving, when turned, to move the shaft about the axis of the projections, thus swinging roller about said axis, the positioning of the guide members with respect to that portion of the seat back which normally engages the back of a seated person being such that said roller, when swung by movement of the handle, will engage said portion and cause it to be projected outwardly at a point and to an extent corresponding to the position of the roller. 

1. An adjustable device for anatomically positioning the human body comprising a seat having a hollow back structure, a shaft, a roller made of resilient material and rotatably mounted on bearings at opposite enDs of said shaft, crank arms at opposite ends of the shaft, projections on said crank arms axially aligned with each other and extending outwardly of said roller, a vertically slotted guide member at each end of the seat back, the crank arm projections being slidably mounted in said slots respectively, and extending beyond the guide members, the portion of one of the projecting members extending beyond the guide member being threaded, a locknut mounted on said threaded portion and adapted to engage the guide member for clamping the shaft in adjusted vertical position, a handle secured to the outwardly extending portion of the other crank arm projection said handle having a portion in engagement with the adjacent guide member and serving, when turned, to move the shaft about the axis of the projections, thus swinging roller about said axis, the positioning of the guide members with respect to that portion of the seat back which normally engages the back of a seated person being such that said roller, when swung by movement of the handle, will engage said portion and cause it to be projected outwardly at a point and to an extent corresponding to the position of the roller. 